There is currently a very intense blizzard situation happening in the northeast. So far, I believe we have gotten 25 inches of snow!! It felt like Christmas morning today; I woke up really early, put on my slippers, shuffled into the cold kitchen, peered outside the curtains, to see a gorgeous soft falling of the whitest snow. I literally have never seen so much snow in my entire life. It's enchanting! And since it's a Saturday, I was able to curl back up in bed and sleep for a couple more hours. It was seriously the best.
And how fitting is this Snow Storm Jonas, because this past week we celebrated two years of living in New York! I swear it's like a time warp here, where minutes feel like seconds and days feel like hours and months feel like...well, you get it. I get weirdly serious and philosophical when I think about our move and time in New York. I just can't get past the idea that it all still feels like a complete dream. Yeah, there are definitely bad days. There are times I want to move back home. But there is this overpowering emotional connection with NYC, that I think lots of people experience who fall in love with it. It's a city full of people pursuing dreams, and I love the energy, inspiration, and daily push I get just from walking out my apartment door.
When we moved here two years ago, it was about a month after I had graduated college. We had been married only a few months. Kyle and I were both applying for jobs in NYC, and then suddenly, he was miraculously offered a promotion that would pay for our entire move. The next thing we knew, we were packing up everything in the little guest house we were living in, and had less than two weeks to make the biggest change in our lives thus far--a move nearly 1700 miles across the country.
It wasn't easy--it was actually really hard. I didn't have a job, we barely knew anyone, and we were hundreds of miles from family. But it has been a literal dream. I love living in a big city, the freedom of taking public transportation, experiencing four seasons, and having access to so many different restaurants, parks, coffee shops, and exploring! I also feel like I could never have grown as a person as much as I have if we hadn't moved here. I've never been so challenged in daily life--emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and physically (hello subway stairs!). In a way I feel like I do better in situations where I am challenged, instead of being restless or comfortable due to familiarity. Am I making sense?
Anyways, to celebrate two years in NYC, we had eclairs inspired by the NYC subway!! Each color represents a train I have taken pretty consistently since moving here:
Raspberry - The 1/2/3 trains!
Kiwi - The 4/5/6 trains!
Blueberry -The A/C trains!
Strawberry - The B/D trains!
Happy two years of living in the city that never sleeps!
NYC Subway Fruit Eclairs (makes 6)
Ingredients:
for the pastry
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 stick butter, cubed
- 2/3 cup flour
- 2 large eggs
for the pastry cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 tbl. corn starch
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 cup milk
for the topping
- handful of assorted fruits, sliced lengthwise (strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, raspberry)
Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, pour in milk, water, sugar, salt, and butter. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and add flour. Using a wooden spoon, mix vigorously until batter forms a ball, pulling away from pan. This should take about 1 minute.
Remove from heat, and continue beating vigorously, for 3-4 minutes, until dough is cool to the touch. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Dough will be wet and lumpy but continue beating until it is smooth. It takes a bit of patience and arm strength.
Once dough is smooth, put in a piping bag fitted with a 3/4" nozzle, or just use a plastic bag and cut about a 3/4" slit. Squeeze dough onto prepared baking sheet, about 4 inches long. It should make 6-7 4-inch eclairs. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
While eclairs are baking, make the pastry cream. In a medium sized bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar together until combined. Whisk in the cornstarch, until mixture becomes very thick.
In a small saucepan, heat milk over medium heat until warm. Add in vanilla, and stir. Remove milk from heat, and very slowly add to egg yolk mixture, whisking vigorously the entire time. Return to a clean saucepan, and heat over medium heat. Whisk vigorously until mixture starts to thicken. Make sure to scrape sides so pastry cream doesn't burn. It should be very thick.
Pour in a bowl to cool, and then cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator until chilled.
When eclairs are done and cooled, slice in half. Spread with a spoonful of pastry cream, and sliced fruit. Stack with the other half, and top with more pastry cream and fruit. Serve!
